


Free Flowers, Fast Food

by aurevell



Series: Free Flowers, Fast Food [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Werewolves, Derek Hale Has a Crush on Stiles Stilinski, First Dates, Fluff, Food Lovers to Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Stiles has a crush too actually but we don't get his side of the story, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-22 16:06:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22718644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurevell/pseuds/aurevell
Summary: Derek is hangry and dramatic (on the inside), there’s literally nothing to eat in his dorm room, and some weird kid on campus is handing out roses in the dark. And of course, it’s Valentine’s Day.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Free Flowers, Fast Food [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161938
Comments: 20
Kudos: 346





	Free Flowers, Fast Food

Stepping out of class with his econ notes still in hand, it takes Derek a few moments to realize he’s not _actually_ feeling grumpy. It’s just that he hasn’t eaten anything all day, and his stomach is literally staging a coup to get food however it can, _right now_.

Somehow, Thursdays always seem to conspire against him to make this happen. This semester, they’re pretty much the bane of his existence, especially with his 3-hour econ class that lets out at 9 PM. And despite his best efforts (and the fact that Laura’s been threatening to pack lunches for him like he’s four), he always ends up right here, every week, walking out into the night air feeling pissed as hell.

As he heads down the building’s front steps, he dodges a lip-locked couple that obviously didn’t get the memo on excessive PDA. Derek reminds himself that it wouldn’t bug him so much if his brain wasn’t currently running out of nutrients.

Thing is, there’s nothing in his dorm for him to actually eat. Lately, Past Derek has been kind of an asshole, always expecting himself to go grocery shopping _later_. He scowls as he sets off across the quad and toward the distant parking lot, trying to figure out how to get something into his mouth ASAP.

It’s dark out, and pretty chilly for February—most of his classmates have scattered, except the enthusiastic pair sticking their tongues down each others’ throats behind him—which is why the guy on the bench farther off stands out. He’s bathed in the golden light of the street lamp overhead, and bundled in a red hoodie with his hands shoved in the pockets. The only reason it isn’t creepy, Derek thinks, is because he’s right on the main campus. And also because there’s a couple of roses on the bench next to him.

One of Derek’s classmates is walking a little ways ahead of him, and as she passes Derek sees the guy hold one out to her. He says something that makes her laugh, and she takes the flower curiously and walks on, looking back just once.

 _Weird,_ Derek thinks, and then he puts two and two together and realizes _It’s February 14th, you idiot._ Valentine’s Day never been a big deal to him—he’s actually never been dating anyone on the day itself—and it’s always seemed like just another excuse to buy a bunch of chocolate for himself and Cora in the post-holiday sales, so they can pig out and watch bad movies later. 

Now, though, he’s thinking this guy’s whole rose thing must be some stunt to get a girl. Except that as Derek passes, determinedly not looking at him, he sees out of the corner of his eye that the guy’s picked up another rose to hold it out to him. 

“Hey, dude,” he says, his mouth twisting into a wry smile. “Free flower. And you’re in luck too, ‘cause it’s my last one.”

Derek pauses, because not saying anything back seems rude. Now that he’s actually looking, though, Derek finds himself drawn to the familiar deep amber color of this guy’s eyes. He hadn’t noticed in the darkness, but he’s seen this guy before. “ _Free,_ free?” Derek asks suspiciously. And then, “Do I know you from somewhere?”

Because Derek _does_ know him from somewhere. Except it would probably seem stalker-ish to say that he’s eyed this guy from afar at a handful of parties, watching him chattering away with his group of friends, laughing over stupid mixed drink ideas, or chilling in a corner when things get too loud. He runs with Lydia Martin and her crowd, which is why Derek’s never felt sure if it’s okay to approach him. Given Lydia’s epic breakup with one of his best friends, her whole friend group seems pretty off-limits. Not to mention the fact that they’re supposedly all super smart and kind of intimidating when they’re glaring Jackson down.

But this guy has always kind of caught Derek’s eye. Something about his long limbs and easy smile. He’s cute from afar and cuter up close, where Derek can see that he’s got a few freckles—or no, they’re moles, actually. Little clusters of them gathered across his cheeks and jaw.

The guy lowers the flower. “Sure. You’re Derek Hale. You hang out with Jackson Whittemore, right? I’m good friends with his ex, Lydia. I just don’t think we’ve ever had a conversation before. Stiles, by the way.”

“Right.” Derek clears his throat. “So, why…?”

“Oh. Yeah. So actually, I had this blind date gone wrong earlier, and I thought I’d come pass them out instead of, like, letting them die in my crappy dorm room. I can barely remember to feed and water myself, so I don’t think they’d last ‘till tomorrow, even. And my roommate Scott’s even worse. If anyone’s got a black thumb, it’s him, so honestly getting them into someone else’s hands is, like, an actual life-saving measure.” He clears his throat, shuffling awkwardly in place. “Sorry, way too much info. Uh, point is,” he adds, holding out the flower again, “you can give it to your girl or whatever. No catch.”

Derek takes the rose gingerly. “I don’t have a girl,” he says. His voice is gruff, and he hopes it doesn’t come out grumpy, like Laura’s told him it sometimes does.

Stiles nods. “Guy, then.”

“Don’t have one of those either.”

“No date?”

“No date.”

Stiles stares for a moment, and then, weirdly, seems to perk right up. “Dude,” he says, suddenly sounding cheerful. “If _you_ couldn’t get a date on Valentine’s, that gives me hope for the rest of us normal folks. Most importantly, me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that—I mean, _obviously_ —” Stiles makes a flailing gesture with one arm, basically encompassing all of Derek. “If you’ve ever looked in a mirror, you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Derek snorts. “Yeah, I guess.”

Stiles gives him a flat look. “Don’t even front, you definitely live in the gym. This must just be like, a quick excursion out of it to let your family know you’re still alive or something.”

“I’m not in the gym much, but I’m on the basketball team,” Derek smiles. “Scholarship.”

“Jesus,” Stiles says, looking up at the cloudy sky. “Hot _and_ athletic. No really, Jesus, thanks for giving me a sign.”

Derek, looking Stiles up and down, just manages to catch himself before he can say something super corny like _You’re not so bad yourself._ “I don’t think you need Jesus’s help,” Derek tells him instead, amused _._

“Man, I need _all_ the help. Honestly. Like, that blind date earlier? Pretty sure I got stood up as a joke. I just sat and waited there forever ‘till I finally got it. Just— _whoosh,_ ” he adds with a laugh, sweeping a hand over his head.

That same wry smile from earlier has crept back onto Stiles’s face, only now Derek thinks there might be something a little sad in it. Derek studies the rose in his hands. It occurs to him that he’d been starving earlier, but he’s managed to forget. Or to become distracted. Which is pretty rare for him. “Huh. Well, not to be a rebound from your earlier thing,” he says, smiling to let Stiles know he’s only poking fun, “but if you aren’t don’t anything right now, my stomach is literally about to eat itself. If you want to join me. For food.”

Stiles tilts his head, blinking in surprise. “Yeah?” he hesitates for a moment, stretching his long legs, then stands and adds, “I mean, I haven’t had dinner. So, yeah.”

“Okay,” Derek says, quirking a smile and hoping he looks more confident than he feels. “Then...it’s a date. If you want.”

Stiles’s jaw drops. “ _Really,_ really? I couldn’t tell if you were kidding. And I've kind of wanted to, for a while—uh, I mean, cool,” he adds, doing a pitiful job at feigning nonchalance. It’s weirdly adorable. “Cool, cool, cool.”

By some mutual decision, they head off shoulder to shoulder in the direction of the parking lot. After a moment, a thought occurs to Derek, and he clears his throat. “So, there’s not much open that’s close. Uh, not much _quality_ stuff open. So I could drive us out to—”

“Oh, _no._ I see where this is going and I’m gonna stop you right there, because I’m not sure how you looked at _this,_ ” he says, gesturing to all of himself, or maybe specifically his red hoodie and fraying jeans, “and thought I was looking to drive across town for something classy at this hour. Plus, you were starving last I heard. Let’s get some greasy food in us both, and I’ll be happy.”

Derek laughs. “Okay. And I don’t know how hungry you are, but…”

“I could literally always eat. Literally always.” He pauses thoughtfully. “It’s a gift and a curse.”

“I think I suffer from the same thing,” Derek says with a smile.

“Okay, so I don’t know what you were thinking, and not to take the reins all of a sudden or anything, but I’m just saying there’s a late-night burrito place on Camp and Fifth.”

“Oh yeah! I heard they just started doing spicy curly fries.”

Stiles stumbles over nothing. “They did what now?”

“Yeah, apparently the orders are big enough to feed a small country.”

“So obviously, one for me and one for you.”

“ _Obviously_ ,” Derek snorts.

“Nice. Okay look, you’re super hot and even more awesome than I even imagined you would be, but just so you know...when we get there, me and those curly fries are gonna need a moment. Don’t take it personal.”

Derek grins at him, twirling the stem of the rose in his fingers. Because maybe _this_ Thursday won't be so bad after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a rando reddit post that I can't find anymore, and I hashed it out super fast so hopefully there are no typos...let me know if there are.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
